Give It Personality

Depending on your daughter's personality, you'll want to include games that suit her and her friends for her Sweet 16. You need not go overboard, as your decorations, food, and their friendships will make the party a success, but it's fun to include games and give out prizes. The prizes can be as simple as a dollar store trinket or as elaborate as a cd, dvd or gift card.

Charades

Act Out

You can always include a game of charades where girls have to act things out for prizes. Make it more personal by writing up a set of cards with the actions that include favorites of the birthday girl.

You might make someone act like a pampered Chihuahua if your daughter loves them or have them mimic your daughter's favorite singer or movie. Make the prizes fun like small gift baskets or gift certificates to stores the kids like or inexpensive earrings or bracelets.

Ring of Fire - Game of Balance

Board Games

Play Nice

You've probably saved some of your daughter's favorite board games from when she was younger. Set up card tables with a few easy-to-play games and have girls rotate who plays where.

Set a timer and make it more exciting. When the timer goes off, the girls switch and have to take on the seat to their left. Include games that are meant for younger children.

The girls will get a kick out of it and it will bring back good memories for your birthday girl. Don't forget to find some fun sweet 16 party favors to hand out to the winners!

Some games to consider include: Chutes and Ladders, Scrabble, Sorry, Monopoly, Life, Girl Talk, Blokus, Rummy and more. Ask your daughter beforehand if she has any favorite board games that she'd prefer to play that night. Odds are, she still has a favorite that she'd love to have an excuse to play with her friends.

Scavenger Hunt

Find Glam

Add flair to the game of scavenging. Instead of having girls just go out with a list of objects to find, create something that matches your theme. If you're having a princess theme, create a page from a storybook written with old English type. Hide objects that have a princess feel-bracelets, tiaras, fake oversized diamond rings-and let the girls keep what they find. You can adjust this for any theme or types of personalized favors that you want.

Personal Trivia

Question & Answer

Before the party, ask your daughter's friends to come up with trivia questions about her. You can suggest that they write them down on index cards and bring them to the party.

They can ask her about favorite movies, kids at school, brands of clothing, favorite song or music, favorite foods, favorite mall or store, etc. For the girl who gets the most right, offer a fun prize such as a themed gift basket based on the question asked.

Another Game on Video

Pop the Balloon

Find the Prize

There are so many things you can hide inside a balloon for a fun surprise. Place pieces of paper inside before you blow up the balloons that include numbers or clues to a game. Have the girls pop them to discover the clue to a mystery or something you've hidden around the house. Have numbers correspond to wrapped sweet 16 party favors you've prepared on a gift table. Or include little trinkets inside the balloons for girls to discover.

Place the balloons in a container that matches your theme. For a princess theme, you could have them all arranged in a decorated carriage made out of cardboard or for an undersea theme, you could have the balloons in a small boat.

Dance Contest

Dance, Dance, Revolution

Girls love to dance, so why not make a contest of it? See who can dance the longest without stopping. Add some bling to the action by giving them light-up glow sticks or bracelets and turn on a disco ball. Of course, you'll want to give out a prize to the winner. A gift card for music downloads is a great idea.

Runway Style

Walk It Out

Gather from friends or a thrift store as many shiny baubles and jewelry, shoes, dresses, hats and scarves as you can find. The wackier the better.

Goodwill is a nice source for old prom gowns and other fun castoffs. Hang them on hangers and put the smaller items in baskets. Include some inexpensive makeup and brushes, rollers or curling irons. Let the girls go wild dressing up.

Then, when they're all prettied up, you can stage a fashion show where you take pictures for them to remember the event. Give lessons on walking a catwalk, applying makeup, or accessorizing. The girls will love the attention. You might even want to videotape the event and email each girl a copy to keep.